Deadwood!

I just started watching Deadwood and um, wow.

Deadwood is positively one of the most realistic Westerns I've ever seen and sure to set the bar for the Western genre forevermore. After listening to the pilot episode commentary by series creator David Milch, I learned that Deadwood's excessive profanity was one way they used to show the town's lawlessness... so I guess we all owe HBO our thanks, because cable TV made it possible to see this stark kind of drama. Unflinching real. It's almost painful to watch, even for me. I do, however, wish they would stop saying "cocksucker" every other word. I doubt it was used quite that often, and even if it were, it pulls me out of the story.

Now, I'm going to talk about a spoiler, but fear not—I am always highly conscientious about not ruining a story for others. I will say that in the second episode, there is a scene which is quintessential Western drama. An extremely intense showdown between the protagonist and antagonist... holy fuck, that's good drama.

I was pleasantly surprised to see Molly Parker in Deadwood's cast. In addition to being very talented, she has a regal beauty to her. And dressed in those fantastic dresses... Molly looks awesome!

I was also very happy to see Timothy Olyphant in the lead role. I took to him immediately in The Girl Next Door, where he was very, very funny. (Fun fact: his dialogue in The Girl Next Door was based on Cabin Fever director Eli Roth.) However, in Deadwood, Olyphant isn't quite on. He's good, but occasionally, I simply don't believe his performance. Maybe it's an intentional acting choice, but it doesn't work... yet. Things grow on you over time, so I'm holding off my judgement.